Expert: Matt - 8/13/2009

Question
A year ago, my son decided he wanted to join the Marines.  As a child he was diagnosed w/ ADHD.  He has been med free for several years.  He goes to MEPS, and in a moment of brightness (sic), takes an Adderall so he could "focus" for the ASFAB.  He did well, then went on to the physical portion.  I'm sure you know what comes next... he has a positive urine drug screen (methamphetamines from Adderal), so they tell him that he is deferred for 1 year.  A year has passed, he has all the medical record documents to show that he has been med-free for a year, provides everything to his recruiter and trots back up to MEPS.  He was told all he had to do was provide another UDS.  I'm fuzzy on what happened next as he's not sharing much, but in a nutshell, the waiver was returned and he now has to appeal to his congressman to see if he can get in.  Apparently, MEPS is revoking the 2004 rule that would allow him to enter even though he has was dx as a child w/ ADHD.  He really wants to join the Marines.  Any suggestions on how to overcome this situation?

Answer
Unless he tested positive for another drug, I cannot exactly understand why they would not allow him to proceed. Ask him if there is anything else in regards to the situation that he is not telling you. Also, call his recruiter and ask for a complete explanation as your son might be a bit intimidated to call his recruiter, as a parent you can have an adult to adult convo with the recruiter. Best of luck.